Worship |
The
word chrismon comes
from the Latin Christi Monogramma, which translates as
"monogram of Christ." It consists of the first two letters in
the Greek word christos,
namely the letter X (chi, pronounced "kee" and looking
like the 24th letter of the Roman
alphabet) superimposed on the letter P (rho, which is the equivalent
of the Roman letter R).
Thus the monogram of Christ is often referred to as the "chi-rho."
It is also referred to as a labarum,
from an obscure Latin word for "laurel-leaf standard," coined
by Constantine as
the name of the standard (or banner) he adopted when he took over the
Roman Empire.
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Prescott
Memorial Baptist Church began using the chi-rho symbol in the mid-eighties
when a large wooden chrismon was chosen to adorn the front of the sanctuary.
Since
that time the symbol has been used on church stationery and literature,
as well as on
this website. (Clicking on the chi-rho at the top of any of these web
pages will navigate
the user back to Prescott's welcome page.)
When
the congregation moved in 2004 to its present location, it was felt important
to move the wooden chrismon to the new sanctuary, as seen in the photograph
at
lef t. For
Prescott church members, the chi-rho is a symbol of the eternal light,
love,
and compassion that is shared with all people through Christ. For us,
it is a constant
reminder to carry the message of light, love and compassion out into the
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- Since
the original location for Prescott Memorial Baptist Church was just
north of the railroad tracks which
run along Southern Avenue, and since the Greek letter rho looks
like the Roman lettter P, which stands for
Prescott, and since the chi (X) looks like the railroad crossing
sign, visitors were frequently told that the
chi-rho symbol represented "Prescott near the railroad tracks."
- The Greek letter
chi (X), being the first letter in the Greek word for Christ,
became a scholarly abbreviation
for Christ, with similar abbreviations suchs as Xn for Christian or
Xnty for Christianity. It also is used in
the abbreviation Xmas for Christmas. However, modern Americans, not
having Greek language as part
of their education, mistakenly believe the X in Xmas stands for X the
unknown as used in algebra.
- Often the upper
part of the rho (P) is distorted so that it looks like the
crook of a shepherd's staff, so that
the chi-rho is often used as a symbol of Christ the Good Shepherd of
his flock, the Christian church.
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